Just The Way You Are
by Heidi C. Stamford
Summary: To celebrate the upcoming Season 2 of Itazura Na Kiss Love in Tokyo, I present to you my very first fanfic ever! Takes place after the wedding ceremony and before their honeymoon. Just a short fic about Naoki and Kotoko's first moment as a married couple plus all the awkwardness. R&R!
1. Author's Note

Author's Note

Hello guys, it's been quite a while..

I just want to take this opportunity firstly to thank all of you for all the wonderful reviews you sent in. Anyway, you'll notice that I've updated the story. Let me explain by saying that I've made some minor adjustments (grammar, choice of words, etc.), but mostly it's for the formatting which initially did not make the story too easy on the eyes to read. I must apologise for this. I was such a newbie back then I did not know how to immediately address the problem when I received several comments from all of you about it. Trust me, I felt the same way too reading this story after I posted. Actually, rather than uploading the story which I've typed on Word, I just copy-pasted the whole thing. That was the reason behind the horrendous formatting. Again, I apologise for coming up with an excuse now, I guess the honest answer would be I didn't know how and didn't bother to look up a way to fix the problem as hard as I should. I hope the formatting is easier on the eyes now, so sorry if it isn't, yeah I suck at it LOL.

Also, I noticed a comment about the characters coming off as a bit OOC, particularly Naoki. Yeah, I guess Naoki's a bit OOC here but I want to explain that when I was writing this, the version of Naoki that I had in my mind was of the TW version. I don't know whether you guys felt it too but Naoki from the TW version, (or let's just call him Zhi Shu as that's the name used), was always the most passionate Naoki from all the versions that we have. I don't know if that's because of how the character was written or because of Joe Cheng's portrayal. Suffice to say, the TW version is my favourite version (especially the second season as Love in Tokyo 2 pales in comparison with the awesome first season), in my opinion. Zhi Shu to me is not just the cold genius, but if you've watched the TW version, he comes off as someone who's a total passionate lover (he makes the first move, he teases her a lot) when they're alone so I was incorporating that into the story. Doesn't matter though, I appreciate the comments.

Also, about possibly making the story longer, well, I have to say I doubt I'd do that. I'd rather start a new story altogether than build on this one simply because this idea was meant to be a one-shot and I don't quite know what else there is to build on this story. After all, I wrote the story as a bridge between the end of the first season and the start of the second season. I've always wondered what happens between the wedding and the two of them sitting in a plane on the way to their honeymoon. But hey, I could be seriously inspired out of nowhere, who knows?

Finally, about writing more INK fanfics. Gosh, you guys have no idea how much I'd love that. Trust me, I've started writing some since I posted this story last year, but I've never been inspired enough to finish the stories. Yeah, I want to post long stories instead of one-shots too. I don't really want to start uploading them unless I absolutely know for certain how the stories would end because I don't want to leave you guys hanging. That feeling when you have a favourite story that suddenly stops being updated sucks, I know. I even wanted to post one during LIT2 but due to writer's block, I missed my window.

Let's see where my inspiration takes me. Do you guys know that currently, there's the Thai version of INK that has just started airing? I wasn't too keen based on the trailers released but I AM a big shipper of the main actors and they did a fine job with the Fullhouse Thai version it was better than the original for me. I'll definitely watch it but to save myself from the agony of waiting for new episodes again, I'll start once the series progresses further.

Well, till next time. Hope to be able to post something good. Take care everyone! Thanks for the support!


	2. Chapter 1

An Itazura Na Kiss Fanfiction

Synopsis: Now that Kotoko and Irie are married, what's next? Takes place post wedding ceremony pre-honeymoon trip

The new bride entered her room and immediately landed belly-first on her bed. _"Ow!"_ she yelled immediately as her long veil got stuck under her belly and was tugging at her hair. The reality was, no matter how much she loved what she was wearing, it was not the most convenient ensemble for movements. She sat back up, slowly this time, and massaged the painful spot on her head.

"_Oi!_" she heard the voice of her crush, who had finally became her husband. _"You're not trying to sleep in that, are you?"_ Kotoko stood up and smiled sheepishly. Something about being in a room alone together after their wedding was making her stomach tied in knots. _"Of course not." _

She managed to look up into his eyes. Those gorgeous eyes. She felt happy at the thought that from now on, those pair of eyes would be the first and last thing she saw every day and night. He was still in his white tuxedo. She expected him to appear differently after being a married man, but alas, he was still the same man she knew. Wedding day or not, he still had that expressionless face.

There was an air of awkward silence between them for a moment. After all, how long has it been since he actually proposed marriage and his mother decided to surprise the entire family by secretly organising a wedding, one week later? The cold genius decided to break the silence.

"_Mother told us to get changed and come down for a party."_ "_She did?"_ Kotoko replied. He nodded. _"Okay."_ But he still did not budge. "_Anything else?"_ she asked him. _"I was just_ _wondering,"_ he began, "_whether you'd need help getting out of your dress." _

"_What?" _Kotoko said with her mouth opened.

"_What are you thinking?"_ Naoki asked.

"_Nothing,"_ Kotoko said sheepishly. Naoki scoffed and took a step towards her.

"_You're not thinking anything inappropriate are you?"_ he accused her teasingly.

"_No, no, no, of course not!"_ Kotoko denied while waving her hands frantically to defend herself.

"_You're such a bad liar,"_ Naoki said with a smile. _"Anyway, what I meant was, do you need help getting out of that ridiculously fancy dress? You look uncomfortable. And I cannot imagine you walking around the house in that."_

"_Oh,"_ Kotoko said with a slight disappointment at the thought that she couldn't wear the dress longer. Naoki studied her. Did he say something wrong? Emotional cues weren't actually his skill.

"_What's the matter?"_ he asked her. But she shook her head. _"Nothing,"_ she said with a smile. _"I could use your help with this veil."_ Naoki nodded. _"Okay, turn around,"_ he said. She did so.

She felt his hands working on the veil and taking out the multiple hairpins secured on her head to keep the veil in its place. He finally succeeded taking out the last hairpin and finally the veil was removed. _"There! I bet your head feels tons lighter now," _he said.

"_Arigatou, Irie-kun."_ Kotoko said, but Naoki could still see a hint of sadness on her face. He racked his brain again, on what could cause a sudden mood swing on his wife. _"Are you sad that you need to change from the wedding dress?"_ Kotoko shook her head. _"I know I can't wear it forever."_

Naoki studied her face again. "_You know what, even though I think you looked stunning in the dress, you look even better in normal attire,"_ he said. _"Really?" _Kotoko sounded surprised at the sudden revelation.

Naoki nodded and placed his hands on her cheek. "_Yes. Because looking at you in that wedding dress, it feels like looking at a bride, but looking at you now, it feels more like looking at my wife,"_ he said gently. Kotoko's face brightened up instantly.

"_You just called me your wife. That's a great feeling!"_ Naoki smiled. _"Of course, silly! Did we not just get married?"_ Kotoko hugged him immediately. "_I'm just glad that you're not too upset by the sudden wedding, Irie-kun."_ Naoki hugged her back. _"I admit, I was taken aback but why would I be upset at the chance to marry someone that I wanted to? I did say that I want to marry you. It didn't matter if we married now or later."_

"_Besides,"_ Naoki continued, _"If we waited, who knows what other obstacles will come our way?"_ Kotoko smiled. "_Thank you, Irie-kun."_ Naoki broke the hug and cupped her face.

"_I should be the one saying that. Thank you for marrying me. Thank you for not giving up all these years. Thank you for putting up with me,"_ he said earnestly. With that, he slowly leaned down and kissed her. _"Gosh, I have to get used to this,_" Kotoko thought happily as she kissed him back.

"CONGRATULATIONS NAOKI AND KOTOKO!"Their entire family cheered together, clinking their champagne glasses. _"Thank you, everyone!"_ Kotoko said brightly while Naoki managed a smile. _"Kotoko-chan, from now on you can call us Mama and Papa,"_ Noriko said enthusiastically, still over the moon at the eventual success of her hard work to bring Kotoko and her son together. _"Hai, Mama and Papa!"_ Kotoko repeated.

The two women hugged each other happily. _"And Naoki-kun, from today onwards, you should call me Otousan,"_ Shigeo added. _"Hai, Otousan!"_ Naoki said with a bow. _"We're finally family, Ai-Chan!"_ Shigeki said as the two patriarchs raised their glasses.

"_Yuuki, you get a brand new sister-in-law,"_ Noriko told her youngest son. Yuuki scoffed indifferently. _"Same difference. A Baka is still a Baka."_

"_Oi, you little brat!,"_ Kotoko said angrily. Naoki laughed and ruffled his brother's hair. "_I know everyone's happy, but Oniichan, you sure have a weird taste in women,"_ Yuuki added and took a sip from his orange juice. "_Yuuki, apologize quickly to your sister-in-law,"_ Noriko said alarmingly.

Yuuki sighed. "_Gomen, Kotoko! Welcome to the family,"_ he said, in a monotone. _"Anyway,"_ Noriko began as they all took their seats in the living room. _"Now that you kids are married, I was wondering whether Oniichan would be fine with sleeping in Kotoko-chan's room temporarily until we get you kids a bigger room?"_

"_What?"_ Naoki began to protest. "_She has a single bed, and that room's too small."_ "_Well, we didn't have time to sort your sleeping arrangement because of the wedding preparation,"_ Noriko answered. _"And whose fault was that?"_ Naoki said sharply.

"_Come on, Oniichan, it's only temporary, we're sorting things out when you kids go on your honeymoon. Besides, you can't sleep separately in the same room with Yuuki now that you're married."_

"_When we go on a honeymoon?"_ Kotoko asked. Noriko laughed. _"Gomen, I forgot to tell you. I've got you tickets to Hawaii for a week. Your plane leaves the day after tomorrow."_ Naoki groaned. _"Seriously, stop interfering. I have no time for a honeymoon now."_

Noriko shrugged. _"You've been away from school for quite some time, I'm sure an additional week makes small difference,"_ she reasoned. _"Right, Papa?"_ she looked at her husband. As usual, Shigeki could only listen to his wife. Especially when she had 'The Look' that he always knew meant she would get her way no matter what.

"_What your mother said,"_ he replied. Naoki let out a huge sigh. Kotoko could only smile in awe at how amazing her mother-in-law could be.

Later that night, after the celebration was over, Kotoko and Naoki found themselves sitting alone in Kotoko's room, an awkward silence engulfing them. Kotoko sat by her desk, all of a sudden finding the desk dusty as she began wiping the desk and arranging her books.

Naoki meanwhile, sat at the edge of the bed, his head buried in a medical textbook, completely oblivious to his surroundings. Kotoko glanced at Naoki as she was arranging her books, and saw that Naoki was still ignoring her. She frowned. She anticipated things to be awkward but she expected him to make the first move, any move at all. Nope, he was still too consumed by what he was reading.

Kotoko sighed and stood up. This time, she took out her luggage and began planning on what to pack for their Hawaii honeymoon.

"_What are you doing?"_ Naoki asked, breaking the silence.

"_Packing,"_ Kotoko answered.

"_Already?"_ he asked. Kotoko nodded.

"_You must be really excited to go to Hawaii,"_ he said and went back reading.

Kotoko stared at him. Is this how it's going to be for the rest of the night? She wondered. She could not just let it be like that.

"_Irie-kun?" _she called him.

"_Hmm?"_ he answered.

"_Are you just going to spend the night reading a book?"_ she asked.

He appeared taken aback by her question. He closed the book and put it aside. _"Then, do you want me to help you pack?"_ he offered. Kotoko brightened up at his suggestion.

"_Sure!"_ she interjected happily.

Naoki managed a small smile and sat next to her luggage. He could see a pile of unfolded clothes already inside the luggage. He began sorting them out and folding them for her. Kotoko was still busy looking inside her wardrobe when she heard a laugh. Kotoko turned to look, and to her horror, she saw her husband chuckling at what appeared to be a pink, heart-shaped decorated bra, that looked to belong to a young teenage girl rather than someone her age.

"_So this is what you wear?"_ he asked. Kotoko literally jumped at him and grabbed the bra. _"It's not mine,"_ she defended.

Naoki laughed. _"You really need to come up with something better than that,"_ he said. Kotoko was already blushing. _"I, um, I..,"_ she stuttered. Naoki grabbed her arm.

"_You seriously think I wouldn't know if you lied to me about it?" _he asked her. Kotoko was caught speechless. Naoki stared at her with a playful smile. His stare quickly descended to her chest. _"Hmm," he said. "By the looks of it, I'd say it is yours." _

Kotoko gasped and quickly covered her chest. Naoki burst out laughing.

"_See? You're so much fun to tease," _he said. Kotoko pouted her lips and immediately stood up. She climbed onto the bed and pulled the blanket over her head.

"_I'm going to sleep, good night!" _

What an embarrassment, she thought to herself. But, must Irie-kun pointed it out like that? It's not my fault I'm pint-sized, she thought again. She felt someone tugging at the blanket and snatched it away from her.

"_What?"_ she said aloud, when she felt Naoki's presence next to her.

"_Are you upset?" _he asked her. She sat up.

"_No,"_ she lied, but she would not look him in the eyes.

Then, Naoki did something unexpected. He grabbed her face and reduced the distance between them. "_If you're not upset, why don't you just tell it straight to my face?"_ he asked her, their face so close to each other, she could feel his breath. Kotoko felt her heart pounding rapidly against her chest.

"_I guess I'm a little upset,"_ she confessed. She dreaded his reaction but instead, he just smiled. _"I know,"_ he replied. _" I guess I went a little bit overboard."_

He caressed her cheeks gently. _"Gomen, Kotoko."_ Then, without waiting for her reply, he closed the gap between them by planting a kiss on her lips. It was a brief kiss, but Kotoko could feel butterflies in her stomach and when they broke apart, Kotoko almost admitted that she wanted more.

"_Should we go back to packing then?"_ Naoki suggested. He began to stand up but she stopped him.

"_Irie-kun, I don't know what your expectations are but in case you get disappointed, I'm sorry,"_ she said. Naoki frowned at her.

"_Expectations?"_ he asked her back. Kotoko nodded.

"_I know you're well aware of all my weaknesses, but if I don't live up to the expectations of what you'd expect a woman to look like, I'm sorry."_

Naoki stared at her in disbelief. He felt even guiltier as he realized that the issue of the pink bra was still not behind them. Why did I have to tease her like that? He chided himself in his head. He sat back down on the bed, facing her.

"_Do you seriously think that I care about physical looks?"_ he asked her. Kotoko shrugged. _"You're a man after all,"_ she said. Naoki nodded.

"_Ah, quoting Ikezawa I see,"_ he said. _"You want to know what I really think?" _he asked her. Kotoko looked at him wonderingly.

"_I think that the woman sitting in front of me now is beautiful just the way she is. "_

Kotoko smiled at his confession. _"Really?" _she asked. Naoki nodded and grabbed her waist. _"Irie-kun,"_ Kotoko called him. He used his body to pin her down on the bed.

"_Remember this?_" he asked her. Kotoko began blushing.

"_Of course I do,"_ she said.

"_Only this time, I'm not doing this to tease you,"_ he said. _"Shall I demonstrate how much I mean what I said?"_ he asked her again. Kotoko bit her lips. Did he mean what she thought he meant?

"_Wait," _she said. He looked at her.

"_What?"_ he asked. _"Are you going to suggest we start a healthy relationship first?" he mocked her._ Kotoko laughed and playfully hit his chest.

"_Irie-kun, please, I don't want to remember what happened that night anymore,"_ she pleaded. "_Why?" "It was too embarrassing," _she confessed.

"_If I tell you something will you swear not to laugh?"_ he asked. Kotoko nodded.

"_Actually, I couldn't stop thinking about what happened that night for a long time,"_ he said. Kotoko looked happy as if Christmas came early. _"Really?"_ she asked. Naoki nodded.

"_You know what? Ikezawa was right_," he said. Kotoko laughed.

"_Well, what are you waiting for then?"_ she said boldly. Naoki smiled and kissed her. Kotoko kissed him back enthusiastically. She could feel his hands wrapping their bodies closer together. Tonight is going to be a special night indeed, she thought.

All of a sudden, there was a knock on the door.

"_Onii-chan? Kotoko chan?"_ came Mrs. Iries's voice. Naoki groaned as Kotoko quickly pushed him off of her.

"_Wait,"_ he stopped her. _"Let's just pretend we're asleep,"_ he suggested. Kotoko wanted so badly to go along with his plan but knew that Mrs. Irie would notice that they have not slept because the light was on.

"_Gomen, Irie-kun,"_ she said apologetically and began fixing her hair and clothes. _"Now I'm looking forward to Hawaii,"_ Naoki muttered and grabbed his medical textbook and resumed reading as the door swung open to welcome his mother, with a huge grin on her face carrying a tray of two glasses of what appeared to be herbal tonic.


End file.
